Finding and Using Your Power
Gail Golden, MBA, Ph.D.
Society of Women Engineers
The Annual Conference for Women Engineers
October 24, 2014
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Agenda
• Different kinds of power and when to use them
• Gender differences in effectively wielding power
• Building your power
• Common pitfalls for powerful women leaders
• Deciding when to flex your power
• Building power together
What is Power?
The ability to influence others, so that your ideas
and vision become reality
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A Typology of Power
• Legitimate Power
• Reward Power
• Coercive Power
• Information Power
• Charisma Power
• Expert Power
• Referent Power
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Legitimate Power
Power comes from the leader’s position.
She has the right to tell someone to do something.
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Reward Power
Power comes from the leader’s ability to bestow rewards.
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Coercive Power
Power comes from the leader’s ability to punish.
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Information Power
Power comes from the leader’s
ability to access and share
important information.
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Charisma Power
Power comes from the leader’s glamor, aura, or ability to make others feel special.
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Expert Power
Power comes from others’belief that the leader has special knowledge and expertise and knows
what is necessary.
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Referent Power
Power comes from the fact that others admire the
leader, want her approval, and desire to be more
like her.
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Building Expert Power
• Promote an image of expertise.
• Maintain credibility.
• Act confidently and decisively in a crisis.
• Keep informed.
• Recognize your people’s concerns.
• Avoid threatening your people’s self-esteem.
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Building Referent Power
• Practice what you preach.
• Be honest.
• Earn trust.
• Celebrate wins.
• Remember the importance of perception.
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Traditional Female Power
• Guilt/shame power
• Sexual power
• Crying power
• Indirect, manipulative
power
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Gender Differences
• Competition
• Attributional style
• Physical stature
• History and culture
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Building Your Power
Inside
Outside
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The Inside of Power:
Thinking and Feeling• Believing in yourself and your expertise
• Trusting your own judgment
• Expecting that others with listen with respect
• Knowing your strengths and weaknesses
• Developing comfort with conflict and risk
• Forgiving yourself
• Being in the moment
• Seeing yourself as an important person
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The Outside of Power:
Presence• An air of authority
• Gravity
• Strength
• Depth, maturity
• Intelligence
• Emotional composure
• I don’t take crap
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Developing Presence
• Appearance
• Voice
• Balance of tension and relaxation
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Common Pitfalls
• Lack of role models
• Falling off the tightrope
• Fear of power
• Excessive need to be liked
• Sabotage
• Systemic barriers
• Others?
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Flexing Your Power
When do you get tough?
• Ethical issue
• Critical issue for the business
• Responding to disrespect
• Defending someone else
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Getting Tough
• Not smiling
• Increased volume
• Very direct
• Eye contact
• Posture
• Not backing down
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Women Building Power
Together• Friends
• Teachers
• Listeners
• Mentors
• Sponsors
• Cheerleaders
• Defenders
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Stand If You Ever …
• Laughed at a joke told by a man at the expense of
women
• Assumed a woman got a job because of a quota
• Speculated that a woman got a job or a promotion
because she had sex with someone
• Made a commitment to a woman and then broke it to be
with a man
• Said or thought, “You can’t trust women.”
• Were more critical of women leaders than men leaders
• Relished the feeling of being the only woman in the room
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Stand If You Ever …
• Expected a woman leader to be more caring and gentle
than a male leader
• Undermined a woman’s chance for a promotion or special assignment
• Criticized a woman for taking time off for family
responsibilities
• Were friendly to a woman’s face and talked negatively behind her back.
• Criticized a women for aggressive leadership you would
admire in a man.
• Undervalued the work of another woman
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The Sisterhood Code
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Final Thought
What is one change you will make in how you build, express, and use your power in
the workplace?
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Gail Golden, MBA, Ph.D., is the Principal of Gail Golden Consulting, LLC. As a psychologist and consultant for more than twenty years, she has developed deep expertise in helping businesses to build better leaders.
www.gailgoldenconsulting.com
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